Biography

Italian writer who was fascinated by the improbable and had a Jekyl and Hyde personality. Italy's best-known author, his work explored complex emotions and sexuality in a graphic, readable style. Throughout his career he wrote 46 books, all of which had a sensual theme and were translated into 37 different languages. He is most famed for his book and movie "Two Women" and was considered ahead of his time in social commentary with a primal force of intellect. In his writing, he also relied heavily on works of prior genius for his inspiration. All of his success began, however, with his first novel, published when he was 19 entitled "The Indifferent Ones."